Father Flynn: "Even if you feel certainty, it is an emotion, not a fact."

A 2004 Pulitzer-Prize winning play by John Patrick Shanley (famous for writing Moonstruck), Doubt: A Parable also won the Tony award for best play, Cherry Jones (Sister Aloysius) won for Best Actress, and Adriane Lenox picked up the Best Supporting Actress trophy. A film version was released in 2008, adapted by its playwright and starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams.

In 1964, a Roman Catholic school in the Bronx welcomes a new priest, Father Flynn, into its circle. Fr. Flynn wants a "friendly, open" atmosphere in the church and school. One woman not embracing Flynn's views is a strict nun, Sister Aloysius. One day, a younger nun, Sister James, tells Aloysius of Flynn's relationship with the school's first black student, Donald Muller. Suspecting that the relationship is far from innocent, Sister Aloysius vows to go against the system itself to expose Father Flynn for what she thinks he is.

This work features examples of:

Ambiguous Situation: The entire story. And, considering the title and central theme, this is very much the point. The experience of watching it as an audience member can cause someone to see-saw back and forth in their opinion of Father Flynn's doubt or innocence.

Apparently Shanley wrote the play with a very specific idea of whether or not Father Flynn is guilty, but refuses to tell anyone except the actors who play him. Everyone else (including the other actors) are left to guess.

Berserk Button: Sister Aloysius has a number of minor ticks that cause her to come down hard on her students, such as use of a ballpoint pen. Father Flynn displays these qualities, causing Sister James to suspect her hatred of Flynn is simply personal.

Dark and Troubled Past: It's clear from Father Flynn's actions that he's done something that would ruin him if it ever became public. Whether or not it is something as vile as child molestation, of course, is entirely up to the audience's interpretation.

Double Standard: The play is in part about double standards for priests and nuns. Even the ostensibly liberal Father Flynn assumes that the nuns are there to serve him (sometimes literally, as when he sits down in Sister Aloysis' chair). The film pushes this theme even further: at one point, we see the nuns glumly eating a bland, sparse meal, interspersed with shots of Father Flynn and his bishop having a jolly time over wine and steak.

End of an Age: Shanley pointedly sets the action in 1964, the year before the Second Vatican Council ended. The Council made a number of changes in the church that were hoped would make it more progressive, open and welcoming, just as Fr. Flynn hopes.

In particular, Sister Aloysius embodies the values of the pre-Vatican II Church, and its stress on discipline, obedience, and absolute certainty. As such, Father Flynn's sermon on the necessity and even holiness of doubt morally offends her. It's a toss up on which disgusts her more, Flynn's possible pedophilia, or his vision of an open, welcoming Church more concerned with love than holiness.

The Ghost: Sister Aloysius, Sister James, Father Flynn, and Mrs. Muller are the only characters who appear in the play. Averted with the film version, however.

Good Is Not Nice: One of the central issues in the play. Aloysius is unfriendly, unforgiving, cold and cynical. She treats her students like inmates, unlike the liberal and friendly Father Flynn. But, as mean as Aloysius is (and as much as we want her to be wrong), she may be right; she has had previous experience in stopping a pedophile priest (though, that time she had institutional support), which tends to support the correctness of her belief.

Holier Than Thou: Invoked but complicated with Sister Aloysius, who is perfectly conscious that her crusade against Father Flynn may itself be sinful.

Hollywood Nuns: Sister Aloysius (harsh disciplinarian) and Sister James (sweet and innocent). The habits, however, are appropriate for the time (1964). Specifically, they are the habits of the Religious Teachers Filippini.

Hypocrite: Both Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn have their moments, as when she's caught listening to the radio she took from one of the students, or when he, for all his supposed progressiveness, has no problem lording his position over the sisters.

Kicked Upstairs: Aloysius gets Flynn to resign, but he is then made the pastor of another church and school, which is more of a promotion.Truth in Television, unfortunately.

Knight in Sour Armor: This is the most favorable interpretation of Aloysius. Although she is mean and unpleasant to nearly everyone, she is dedicated to the welfare of her students and will not stop at anything to ensure their safety. She breaks the chain of command, which is as important to nuns and priests as it is in the Marines. Of course, whether the threat she's acting on is real is still an open question.

Knight Templar: This is the other major interpretation of Aloysius. She decides that Flynn is a child molester because she sees a boy pulling away from him from a distance, and acknowledges that he can do nothing to change her mind that he's a rapist.

Lying to the Perp: Aloysius lies that she talked to a nun at one of Flynn's previous parishes, which causes Flynn to get hot under the collar as he believes she knows a dirty secret of his.

Moral Sociopathy: The least charitable interpretation of Sister Aloysius; she only cares about being right, and the fact that innocent children might be suffering is entirely secondary.

Morton's Fork: Sister Aloysius at the end. If she is correct about Flynn's guilt all she's done is gotten him Kicked Up Stairs into a position where he can do even greater harm. If she is wrong, her own petty prejudices led her to persecute a completely innocent man, and deprived a vulnerable student of his only protection.

No Ending: Cast members have said that the third act of the play is the discussion that takes place amongst the audience afterward. Also, the question of whether or not Flynn is guilty is never resolved (see Shrug of God in the Trivia subpage).

One-Word Title: The title of Doubt, which is about doubting whether Father Flynn is guilty or innocent.

Played with. Father Flynn comforts Sister James about her brother and life under Sister Aloysis partway through the story. Whether this is actual dog petting or him just trying to throw her off his trail is unclear.

Sister Aloysius protects a senile and blinding nun from getting kicked out. (Whether this is actually altruistic is debatable, as the sister in question would be taken care of...but she would likely be replaced by a lay teacher, something Sister Aloysius dislikes.)

The debate within the Church between traditionalists and progressives has only grown more heated since The '60s, with each side blaming the other for the aforementioned crisis.

Shown Their Work: John Patrick Shanley actually attended and graduated from Catholic schools. It's probably not a coincidence, then, that Doubt offers up one of the only remotely realistic portrayals of Catholic schools in fiction.

The nuns are noted for their unusual bonnet-like headgear. This is also real. They are the Sisters of Charity of New York, founded in 1809 by Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton — the first American saint. The outfits are based on the Italian-style mourning attire she wore after her husband died.

Virginity Makes You Stupid: Sister James initially seems to belong to this trope, although the play and film eventually call that judgment into question. (Not incidentally, Sister Aloysius isn't virginal: she joined the convent after her husband's death.)

What the Hell, Hero?: Sister James more than once gets...saddened by Aloysius's actions towards Flynn.

Wide-Eyed Idealist: Sister James. Father Flynn can come off like this at first, due to his liberal views. Whether he is or not, or it's merely a facade, is open to debate.

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